Ztirfmanic

"Life is a constant battle for survival. As we grow older, the rules change on daily basis. our mission is not to escape, but to survive; not to deal with triumph, but to deal with failure;not to run away from fear, but to master it."

Sunday, June 14, 2009

its been a while since my last post. been a busy month for me this past month, a lot of activities that keeps me away from the pc for a long time.

its the month of june and back to school again (for students and teachers). actually for me, its back to everything. being bantay sa shop, back to hatid sundo sa school and back from vacation. yes, kahit na hampas lupa itong inyong lingkod, i can still afford pa naman to have a decent vacation together with the whole family.

i am happy to say that this is the vacation that the whole family really enjoyed (pwera lang siguro ako, lalo na pag na iimagine ko ang damage it will do to my pocket!). this time we really planned several months earlier.

we left Antique May 22 for Manila. Our itinerary will be May 25-29 Manila and May 29-June 2 Cebu. The company includes me, my wife, the two kids FP and ZY, Joy-joy ( our all-around assistant/scholar and Pebbles, my wife's 7-year old niece who is on a reward-vacation (she was allowed to go with us as a reward for passing the entrance exam of Antique SPED Center's Grade 1-FL (Fast Learner). It also happened that our FP nearly topped (no. 2) in the Qualifying Exam of the same school in Preparatory-FL. So its another reason for us to pursue the planned vacation plus we have to fulfill our panaad (a thanksgiving celebration and a fulfillment of a promise and vow)to Sto. Niño de Cebu for the safe and normal delivery of our second son ZY.

we booked our ticket via PAL a month before so walang hassle sa transpo namin back and forth. i know some of you nakataas na ang kilay thinking that booking 2 rountrip tickets for 5 pax on a peak season means loads of money. Mayaman si Fafa! hehehe! actually we are using the reward points we earned from mabuhay miles and the points from Mama Nene and Toto Eric(wife's aunt and cousin in U.S.). We have to pay for the taxes though, ( which is almost the same as the ticket price on regular season! wadapak!). Akala namin napamura na but, parang ganun pa rin pala! hehehe! (yan kasi, hindi muna nagtanong tanong kung may tubig bago tumalon sa balon! hehehe)

Saturday, May 9, 2009

I want to share this OKM video by Noel Alamis. Actually this is one of the first (and undeniably a hit)OKM (Original Kinaray-a Music) and had gained its popularity with its upbeat and danceable tune. It has been aired not just in Antique but also heard in the airwaves and a much requested song in every baylehan of Panay, parts of Negros and even in Mindanao with Karay-a speaking population.

Monday, May 4, 2009

Today is our Town Fiesta... the Feast of Sta Monica. Whats interesting about it?.. nothing!

Aside from the poor preparations by our municipality, its been raining like hell for several days already. Thanks to Typhoon Dante. The yearly Hantikan Festival seemed to look like a festival for frogs. The Banig Band's performance of OKM (Original Kinaray-a Music) on the night of Festival's kick off was witnessed by less than a hundred or so (mostly teenagers who didnt bother the sky urinating at them and the flooded town plaza). They were good... thinking that the vocalists are two of the province's known OKM artists and my favorite (Sammy Rubido and Mark Quintela), it should be witnessed and appreciated by more. Thanks to the rain (again) and most people prefer to lay their Banig (sleeping mat) and snore the rainy night off.

The vespera night is also celebrated with a band with matching tables for drinking fronting the stage. Bagay na bagay ang setting since the vocalists' voice are just like singing in the karaoke bar. This time the rain stopped for a while.

The sky poured all the rain early in the morning. I was happy for it since we will not be preparing any food nor accepting any visitors. We agreed that this year we will be practical. Instead of spending a lot for feeding mostly people we don't know and leave us with mountain of dishes to wash afterwards, we would just save it for other activities where the whole family will benefit and enjoy. you might call us stingy but i will call it being paractical. heheh. with the world in crisis, we cant afford to be extravagant!

So the rain continue and i am smiling. With this rain, nobody would dare to visit us at the end of Poblacion (Outside the civilization) and brave the moon-like craters of water and mud just to have free lunch. But alas! Sta Monica seemed to hear all the prayers cause at 11 am the skies cleared and people started to emerge on street like ants after the storm.

Then there's a knock at our door. Its my sister and her 3 kids! she was informed earlier that we are not preparing anything but she insisted. She just wanted to get out of their house away from her mother-in-law for a while (i don't know why there's always an issue when it comes to mother-in-laws?).

So my mother-in-law(whom i love) was forced to rummage our freezer and cook menudo for our insisting guest and she manage to have it served at exactly 12 noon! that was quick! and delicious!

We are busy at the dining table when another knock at the door brought us to a pause. There's a heavy-built 40 something man and a kid with plastic bags of rice and fried fih outside with a letter saying that the kids father was killed by the rebels (i don't know which rebel) and needs some help. I gave them 20 pesos, the only amount left in my wallet. They then asked if we can give them food. So i asked our help to put menudo on a plastic bag and hand it to the visitors.

Watdahek! nanghihingi na nga, namimili pa! sorry na lang sila since that's the only food we prepared. So the guys went away with only 20 pesos from my dying wallet.

Ten minutes later, we heard another knock and it was these two ladies(Aborigine Aetas) who happened to be the helpers of my wife before when they were still kids and living with their grandparents. They frequent us every fiesta and new year asking for aginaldo and old clothes. I can still remember the last new year that they almost fight over a carton of used clothes, shoes and toys that we prepared for them. We were lucky that its just the two of them today cause in the past they used to be almost a barrio. They just asked for a take-home food since they had already eaten at our cousin's house. So we handed the plastic bag which the Muslim visitor recently rejected and the other lady managed to empty the bowl of menudo that was left at the table and filled her plastic bag. They then asked for jeepney fare for their way home. Life nga naman! i am just thankful i am not in their position to beg for jeepney fare. So, its my wife's purse turn to be drained this time.

Sa awa ng Maykapal, no more visitors disturbed us after that since we ignore text messages of friends who asks if there's extra food left for them.

What a way to spend town fiesta without spending too much! Wag lang sana kaming gabaan ni Sta. Monica for ignoring her Feast.

This is a video of the Banig Band performing in another town's fiesta.

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Its the first time i watch Pacquiao's fight live via pay per view. I am not really a big fan of Manny Pacquiao but i cant help myself from cheering especially when Manny Pacquiao TKOs Ricky Hatton on the second round of their fight.

Pacquiao knocked down Hatton twice in the first round then hit Hatton with a left in the second that sent Hatton flat on his back on the canvass of the MGM Grand Arena.Pacquiao snatched Hatton’s International Boxing Organization junior welterweight title and his sixth title in different weight divisions.Congratulations Manny! and to all Filipinos around the world cheering for the People's Champ.... Mabuhay! Medyo sayang nga lang ang mga bumili ng ticket sa mga cinemas. Hindi man lang uminit ang mga puwet, Knock out na kaagad.To those who have not watched the fight, click this.*Photos courtesy of Yahoo!images

Monday, April 27, 2009

They say that dog is man's best friend and i can say yes to that. They are the most effective guards especially at night. However, sometimes instead of being helpful, nakakairita din ang ingay nila pag gabi.

We have 2 dogs at home. We call them Marky (Red) and Pula (White). They were with us for almost four years and they can be trusted when it comes to taking charge of home security at night and even at daytime.

Since the birth of our second child Bos, i felt the obligation to attend to his night time necessities such as changing diapers, bottle feeding, and even singing him to sleep (and its where i really excel! really!). Those who had experienced having to nurse a newborn at night knows that you will really need cups and cups and cups of coffee to be awake.

I've been up till morning for two weeks already. I took the initiative to look for Bos at night so that my wife will have the time to recuperate well from a delicate pregnancy. She needs to be relieved from stress and strenuous movement after pregnancy. Mahirap na baka mabinat, she still have to go back to work in two months time.(I bet she's very lucky to have found a husband like me di ba? o, kokontra ka pa eh!)

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Do you have an appetite for exotic foods? or are you adventurous enough to try one? I have prepared something for you.

Hah! ala WOK WITH YAN naman ngayon ang drama ng inyong lingkod!

Since its been raining here for almost a week now, hindi ako makatulog sa gabi dahil sa ingay ng mga creatures na to. Kaya to make my revenge, i will be preparing something special using them para naman maging kapaki-pakinabang sila aside from being scandalous at night.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Rain had been pouring straight on its third day now. To think that its the month of April, what happened to the local term "Bangag sa Abril" and it seems to nowhere to be found?

Maybe this is what they call Global Warming.

Abnormal as it may seem,yet some are happy for its occurrence this summer; Our newborn son that is saved from the scorching summer heat inside a ceiling less room, and Joy that is saved from her daily obligations of watering the garden.

Drop Your Bomb Here

Inspiratorium

-- written by Max Ehrmann in the 1920s --

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.Speak your truth quietly and clearly;and listen to others,even to the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.Avoid loud and aggressive persons;they are vexatious to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter,for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.Keep interested in your own career, however humble;it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs,for the world is full of trickery.But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;many persons strive for high ideals,and everywhere life is full of heroism.Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection.Neither be cynical about love,for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment,it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline,be gentle with yourself.You are a child of the universeno less than the trees and the stars;you have a right to be here.And whether or not it is clear to you,no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be.And whatever your labors and aspirations,in the noisy confusion of life,keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,it is still a beautiful world.Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.